The concept of an adjustable bed is perhaps as old as man himself. That is, once man began sleeping in a bed he or she probably began sitting in that bed. It is a simple next step for the user of the bed who wishes to sit in it to reach for a pillow or other support for his or her back while remaining in a seated position.
Early adjustable beds were made from a sheet metal frame into three adjustable sections including a section for the back, seat and a straight section for the legs. Examples of adjustable beds which are capable of adjustment in but three sections are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 681,186 by Bowie; 1,001,437 by Payne; and 2,500,742 by Taylor.
It is generally uncomfortable to sit with your legs in a straight, elevated position. Thus, the next improvement in adjustable beds was to provide an articulated bed having four sections including two sections for the legs. Samples of such articulated beds are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,397,773 by Muir and 3,051,965 by Szemplak et al. A design utilizing a five sectioned articulated bed with a fifth section for the head is shown in design patent Des. 255,402 by Lundgren.
Whether an articulated bed utilizes three, four or five sections, the prior art provides several methods of adjusting the various sections including manual adjustment or adjustment by use by electrical motors. An example of a bed utilizing manual adjustment is shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 1,397,773 by Muir. A patent showing the use of two or more motors is shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 2,500,742 by Taylor. As the development of articulated beds advanced, it became common to utilize but a single motor with a differential drive or other arrangement to provide two or more adjustments from the single motor. An example of such a device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,349,701 by Buttikofer et al.
While adjustable beds are generally used in hospitals and other facilities which house invalids who are forced to spend extensive periods of time within a bed for reasons of health, injury or physical handicap, the advent of television has created a market for adjustable beds within the home. Thus, it is desirable to provide apparatus which may be inserted within a standard bed frame for providing the power necessary to adjust an articulated bed. An example of a device which may be inserted separately into a standard bed frame is shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,921,230 by Hanning et al.
Whether an articulated bed is to be used within a hospital, convalescent home or a private home, it is necessary to ship the bed from a facility where it was manufactured to a facility where it is to be used. Shipment of a large and bulky bed can create problems of handling, storage and cost. Shipment of such bulk also leads to mishandling and damage.
Further, most prior art adjustable beds have been designed with the thought that the beds would be utilized in a hospital. Such a bed was designed generally for long life and durability; while little attention was paid to value engineering to retain the desirable features while eliminating unnecessary parts, reducing costs, saving materials and improving operation.